A Will Sovereign Chapter 8: Chapter 8— The fall of vareth.

Read chapter 8 of A Will Sovereign by Sloche on NovelPedia.

Far away from the drifting Cloud Whales— Vareth still burned brightly beneath the night sky. Countless lanterns floated above the city while music and celebration echoed endlessly through the streets. The arrival of the New Year had finally come. The trade districts remained crowded even this late into the night. Merchants finalized final agreements over wine. Children ran across lantern-lit streets while fireworks occasionally blossomed above the city walls. Everything looked peaceful. Alive. Warm. No one noticed the change in the sky above Vareth at first. It began subtly. The stars above Vareth gradually disappeared one by one. Then— the clouds thinned and scattered. A strange pressure quietly descended upon the city. Heavy. Oppressive. Those sensitive to primal essence fluctuations slowly raised their heads toward the sky. "…What is that?" High above Vareth— a small crack appeared in the heavens. At first, it looked insignificant. Thin. Almost fragile. But then— it slowly spread wider. And wider. Until suddenly— CRRRRRACK!! The sky split apart completely. Yet instead of the shattered fragments falling downward— the broken space itself was violently pulled inward toward the darkness beyond the crack. Like reality itself was being devoured. Silence fell across Vareth. Even the fireworks stopped. Then— something screamed from within the darkness. It's voice. The sound felt impossible to describe. Like whispers layered upon whispers. Like mourning cries buried beneath laughter. Like thousands of voices trying to force themselves through a throat that could not contain them. The moment it echoed across Vareth— Countless commonfolks immediately collapsed while clutching their heads in pain. The next moment— they descended. Dark, red-like figures poured endlessly from the crack in the sky. The Fallen. Grotesque humanoid creatures with distorted limbs and hollow black eyes,their skin a spiral of dark red that seemed to shift and crawl beneath itself. They crashed onto rooftops, streets, and buildings throughout the city. Screams instantly erupted across Vareth. "FALLENS!" "RUN!!" The first wave landed directly within the trade district. Blood exploded across the lantern-lit streets. People were torn apart before they could even react. The Fallen moved frantically— fast and violent. Driven purely by slaughter. A spear-wielding martial practitioner immediately rose into the skies. "Protect the commonfolks!" Flames erupted from his weapon as he pierced through multiple Fallen at once. Several other pathway practitioners quickly joined the battle. Sword lights flashed across the streets. Lightning exploded between buildings. Countless pathway manifestations erupted throughout the city as Vareth descended into chaos. But there were too many. Far too many. The crack above Vareth continued vomiting Fallen endlessly into the city. Then— golden light erupted across the sky. An enormous barrier formation activated around Vareth. Countless golden runes spread through the skies while an immense translucent shield enclosed the entire city. The Grand Barrier Astra Array. The City Lord had activated it personally. At the center of Vareth— a middle-aged man stood atop the formation tower while blood slowly trickled from the corner of his lips. His spiritual essence surged wildly into the formation. "Seal…the breach…" The formation masters beneath him desperately poured their energy into the array. The golden barrier slowly expanded upward toward the broken sky itself. The crack violently trembled. The descending Fallen began shrieking frantically. Then— BOOOOOOM!!! The shattered sky forcefully closed. The crack disappeared. Silence briefly followed. Then— the people of Vareth realized the truth. The barrier had activated too late. Thousands of Fallen had already entered the city before the sky sealed shut. And now— the barrier trapped everyone inside together. Despair instantly spread across Vareth. "No…" "We're trapped…" The Fallen screamed once